CHENNAI: A 27-year-old trans man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly slashing a woman’s wrists and ankles and setting her on fire at a vacant plot at Ponmar near Thalambur late Saturday evening. Police said the accused, Vetrimaran, had blindfolded the woman and bound her limbs.
The victim was identified as R Nandhini, a 27-year-old software engineer. According to her family, she had been friends with the accused since high school in Madurai.
While Vetrimaran resides at Mappedu in Tiruvallur district, Nandhini was staying at her aunt’s house in Kannagi Nagar and working in a private IT company in Nungambakkam.
A police officer said that Vetrimaran had become possessive of Nandhini and did not want her to have other male friends. “He had started quarrelling with her over this for the past six to eight months and she stopped talking to him. As she was frequently seen with a male colleague, Vetrimaran plotted her murder,” the officer said.
On Saturday, the eve of Nandhini’s birthday, Vetrimaran contacted Nandhini and told her that he would not quarrel with her and asked her to meet him once as he had planned a surprise for her birthday, the police said.
The duo met on Saturday and Vetrimaran took her to various places, including a temple. “Around 7 to 7.15 pm, he took her to a vacant plot near Ponmar Road.
We suspect he blindfolded her under the pretext of presenting a gift. While her eyes were closed, he bound her arms and legs with two chains and locks. He then slashed her wrists and ankles before immolating her and then he left the spot,” the police officer said.
Hearing her screams, passersby rushed to the spot and found her to have sustained severe burn injuries. They called for an ambulance and the police were informed. Nandhini managed to give them a phone number. When it was dialled, Vetrimaran answered the call and said he was her friend. “He came to the spot and helped the police take her to the hospital. However, during interrogation, he confessed to the crime,” the police officer said.
Both Nandhini and Vetrimaran had informed her colleague of their plans which helped the police zero in on Vetri’s role, the officer added.
Nandhini succumbed to her injuries at the hospital.
On Sunday, Nandhini’s elder sister, who was present at the Chromepet Government Hospital with her family, expressed shock at Nandhini’s death. “Nandhini, Vetrimaran, who was then known by his birth name, and another girl, were very close during their school days. They studied together in a girl’s school till Class 12. The three of them went to separate colleges but stayed in touch. While they were in college, Vetrimaran told them about his gender identity as a man. This led to problems in the other girl’s family and they stopped talking to him. Nandhini still remained friends and stayed in touch with him,” she said.
After completing college in Madurai, Nandhini moved to Chennai for work, her sister added.
“In 2019, Vetrimaran’s family cut ties with him and sent him out of the house. A few years ago, he moved to Bengaluru and started working there. After saving money, he came to Chennai for a gender affirmation procedure. He would constantly update Nandhini about everything. We even asked about Vetrimaran the last time Nandhini came home on leave,” she further recollected.
Nandini’s father said, “If Nandhini had told us there was a problem here, we would have definitely helped her in sorting it out. Being empathetic and supportive cost my daughter’s life.”
“When we initially got a call from the police saying that Nandhini had been immolated, we tried reaching out to Vetrimaran first because he was the only person close to her other than family. He kept rejecting the calls but later a policeman answered saying that Nandhini was dead,” the sister said.
Nandhini’s body was handed over to her family around 4 pm on Sunday, her birthday.
Cops reject allegation that trans man was assaulted
Meanwhile, LGBTQIA+ activists in Chennai raised concerns that police had questioned another trans man and his girlfriend later in the night. L Ramakrishnan, vice president, SAATHII, said that when they had gone to meet the other trans man at the police station, he and the suspect (Vetrimaran) appeared to have been beaten up.
“We have submitted a representation to the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kelambakkam saying that the investigative process should be carried out without affecting their dignity or endangering their lives,” he said.
He pointed out that an advisory from the home ministry says a separate enclosure or ward for transgender inmates must be provided and it should be separate from male and female enclosures or wards.
“We have been assured that this would be provided in Vetri’s case,” Ramakrishnan said.
A senior police officer said it was true they had taken a cis woman and another trans man, who were Vetri’s roommates, for questioning late at night but maintained that a woman lawyer had been present then.
However, he said allegations of the trans men being assaulted by police were false.
“We were looking to make a breakthrough in the case without wasting any time. They were taken in for probe but they were not assaulted and no transphobic slurs were used against them,” the official said.